London's best restaurants for pizza

This Italian staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots. We’ve tried and tested the very best pizza and give you our top London pizzerias. Do you agree with our choices? Use the comments box below or tweet your suggestions.

With its top-notch, UK-sourced (when possible) ingredients, speedy and friendly service, and rapid turnover, the original Brixton branch of Franco Manca remains, for our money, the best pizza joint in London. Both indoor and outdoor seating overlooks the bustling market arcade. Here you can sate a craving for genuine, Neapolitan-style pizza, with a flavourful slow-rise sourdough crust and a variety of traditional and innovative toppings.

It’s not how big it is: it’s what you do with it. Take this joint in Neal’s Yard’s, which is serving pizzas that wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Man v. Food’. Served fresh from the wood-fired oven, most of these thin crusts are available by the slice (£4). Or, you can order a whole 20-incher (£20), which is enough to feed you and two of your pals. They’ll even let you have more than one choice of the topping selections if you ask nicely.

The popularity of Pizza East, one of the first bastions of Shoreditch gentrification, hasn’t waned. This Soho House operation still packs out the landmark Tea Building, with hipsters and City boys arriving to eat well past 9pm during the week. The huge warehouse space features sharing benches, industrial decor and more bare brick and concrete than your average multistorey car park.

Santoré seems to divide opinion: some diners can’t get enough of its authentic Neapolitan food; others can’t forgive the occasionally tetchy service. On our most recent midweek visit, however, we were greeted warmly by the staff who happily recommended their favourite dishes on the menu. The place was packed with diners.

Having built a loyal following for its three-wheeler food van (usually found in Berwick Street Market), PP opened on this busy corner in summer 2013. You can see the kitchen and pizza oven (also servicing the takeaway trade) through the ground-floor windows. The main basement dining area feels intimate, the seating and tables compact.

The bright yellow signage means Malletti is hard to miss – which is good, because you shouldn’t. This little takeaway joint supplies pizza the Italian way: by the rectangular slice, wrapped in paper for munching on the go. Arrayed in colourful strips along the bar, the pizzas on display are an appetising sight. Spicy salami and chilli has a firm, light base, with a rich, sweet tomato topping and a real kick.

The former Fat Badger pub has transformed into a swan under the wing of the achingly fashionable Soho House Group, a company that seems to specialise in charging more than its cooking is worth, but compensates diners with fabulous interiors and a feeling of being in with the in-crowd. Refreshingly, this branch of the Pizza East concept doesn’t imitate the hit Shoreditch original.

Mimmo La Bufala specialises in southern Italian food, with a bias towards mozzarella (of course) and fish. The long pizza list includes all the classics as well as seasonal variations such as tomato-free ‘biancis’. ‘Mimmo’s pizza’, named after the ebullient proprietor, is made in true southern Italian style, its thin base topped with juicy tomatoes, smoky provolone and melt-in-your-mouth buffalo mozzarella before being baked in a wood-fired oven.

Introduced to London by Alan Yau in 2008, this smart outpost of a Milanese bakery chain remains a popular all-day option. It’s an airy, good-looking room, with a sandstone interior, long black marble counters and a (slightly odd) water feature that runs the length of one wall. The food is varied enough to keep diners coming back for more. But try dining in the pizzeria (to the left as you enter), which offers table service and a marginally calmer atmosphere in which to enjoy a short but classy range of pizzas.

Next door to Ealing Studios’ watering hole, the Red Lion, this pocket-sized pizzeria puts real heart into its offerings. Owners Angelo and Pasquale, finding nowhere in London to match the pizza of their upbringing, set about recreating an authentic slice of Naples in W5. Authentic, it doubtless is. Everything from the wood-fired oven to the Caputo flour and parmigiano reggiano is imported; the lightly salted dough is given a 24-hour rise; the tomatoes crushed by hand; the mozzarella cut in precise pieces that melt just-so.

Venue says:
For 16 years Il Bordello has been delighting Londoners with its hearty Italian cooking and warm, cheerful atmosphere. Large Lempicka prints adorn the walls and a gleaming copper bar acts as the restaurant’s centrepiece.
Our extensive menu is simply overflowing with beautifully fresh fish and seafood, succulent meat, hand-thrown pizzas and traditional pasta dishes. Sample delicacies like the Insalata di piovra, a tasty octopus salad or the Bresaola della casa with olive oil, parmesan and a dash of lemon. Mains courses include to name a few, Cotoletta Milanese, tender veal coated in golden breadcrumbs or our spectacular pizza Il Bordello with plenty of homemade passata, lashings of creamy mozzarella, artichoke, red peppers and Parma ham. By way of an accompaniment, enjoy a bottle of Italian wine of which we mainly import direct from small Italian vineyards. Our house wine is just £14.50 and other wines include Barolo at £38.95 .
Recently we were awarded a certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor for which we are eternally grateful to our customers.
Unlike so many London Italian restaurants, Il Bordello sidesteps pretentiousness and instead focuses on delivering deliciously authentic Italian cuisine. An evening at Il Bordello will remain in your memory long after dining with us.

Attracting Wapping residents as well as tourists over the years, Il Bordello often sees queues out of the door during the week. Despite its position at the bottom of one of Wapping’s modernised brick wharfs, you could be taking a step back into the 1990s here – complete with tables covered in plastic cloths, and napkins carefully curled into wine glasses. Gigantic pizzas topped with time-tested combinations are a strength; we enjoyed a mix of bresaola, rocket and parmigiana.

The Gowlett still looks like a proper boozer, albeit an antique wood-panelled, minimalist boozer – which is something of an achievement round here. The clue to its popularity is in the dough-scented air as you approach. This place sells the best pizza for miles around. The floury bases, pleasingly thin, taste sensational, and a special mention must go to the nutty organic spelt version – try it for £1.50 more and a five-minute extra wait. Look out for their pizza bus too, The Crust Conductor, currently parked up at Peckham's Brick Brewery.

Comments

Voodoo Ray's does amazing 22inch slices ...they are massive! It's not Italian but if you want a genuine NYC style slice it's the best in London hands down. For straight up Neopolitan style then Franco Manca in Brixton get my vote.

Born and bred in Naples, I can only think that the 5 stars given to Franco Manca are the result of a Time Out critic who has never actually tasted a real Neapolitan pizza (and I'm talking Sorbillo - http://www.sorbillo.it; Starita a Materdei - http://www.pizzeriastarita.it and Cafasso, to give a few illustrious examples). There is no doubt that Franco Manca's pizze are aesthetically very pleasing. And I can almost forgive the clammy Somerset mozzarella (but not the freezer-cold mozzarella and burrata starters), but the soul of any pizza is in the dough - and Franco Manca's dough is chewy and gummy. Each to his own, of course, but any self-respecting Neapolitan would steer clear. Surprisingly, the best pizza I've had in London is at Rosso Pomodoro in Camden. No contest.

Visiting Notting Hill from New Haven, CT (look up our pizza credentials) in the US. Been to Italy 9 times and studied there for a year. Also, tried great pizza in NYC, SF bay area, and Minneapolis (yes, there's excellent Neopolitan & New Haven style pizza there). Read about the London pizza trend so tried East which is interesting but over priced and mediocre. Saporitalia is worlds better, and love that they serve traditional breaded anchovies, which I only ever found at my girlfriend's mom's kitchen! BTW, Otto & Homeslice deserve a visit bc they're so unique.

The not-so-off-the-beaten-track-anymore Hackney Wick based Crate Brewery is our new favourite bar-pizza restaurant that does it all: proper thin crust pizza and a fantastic selection of locally brewed beers, alongside with prosecco on tap a vast selection of imported bottled beers from Belgium, the US and beyond.
The pizzas come sizzling hot from a wood fired over (you can even see them being prepared through a semi open plan kitchenette) which are topped with some of the most original and moreish combinations: sweetpotato and gorgonzola with walnuts, laksa chicken, potato sage and truffle oil and the most kick ass pizza margherita, this side of Napoli, amongst others.
The hipsterish staff is a laid back group, eager to help out in making beer suggestions at the bar. The surroundings are clearly DIY, boho chick and arty project (re-used mattress springs doubling up as pendants, anyone?) and there are long communal pic nic style tables overlooking Heredford Union canal. Oh and they are open from 9am with breakfast and brunch options too (I'd still get a pizza for breakfast!)
The whole experience is very easy going, good beer, good tunes and some of the best pizzas this city has to offer. It's a good thing they're located in Hackney Wick and not in Shoreditch, otherwise it would be near impossible to find a spot. Def worth making the trek on the Orange line. It can get incredibly busy on Friday and Saturday evenings so best to arrive there a bit earlier.

For me, the best pizza I've eaten in London is Pizzeria Pappagone on Stroud Green Road, London. I would probably go as far to say its, not only the best pizza, but the best Italian in London!
If you go you must try the 'pizza parmigiana'- deep fried aubergine pizza! A hit with veggies and carnivores alike.

I am mad about pizza, I have tried almost every single pizzeria in London, and I have to admit that Da Spago, Pizza metro and Sacro Cuore are the definitely the best... My personal taste... hey this is food and not Mathematics
Federico

Time Out you must try the delicious homemade pizza at The Shakespeare, 2 Goswell Road, The Barbican. It definitely deserves a place on your 'Best Pizza' List. I popped in after a show at the Barbican the other day and had the best pizza I've had in my life! Delicious, authentic Italian hand made pizza.
The Shakespeare is an Italian-run stylish and friendly pub, 2 minutes walk from the Barbican Centre. On Saturdays they do a half-price 'Pizza Fever' evening. You'll be amazed at the quality of food and service at this place.

Tommaso - I think the reviewers were off in feeling the need to use the word authentic throughout the reviews. However, authentic does not a good pizza make. Creativity, taste, etc. should be the higher bar, so no, I don't think a British person would be best placed to judge the best fish and chips in New York, nor should a Neapolitan with all their local baggage be the best person to judge pizza in London. And your point on objectivity and Neapolitans is a stretch AT BEST!
That said, La Donna Margherita is a yummy, beautiful treat.

not to be controversial, but i find it nigh on offensive to have a cohort of judges charged with rating the best pizzeria in london, none of whom is italian, let alone neapolitan. Surely the people who gifted the world with the creation of pizze deserve a voice in the matter, particularly if it is to be done with a degree of objectivity!
On behalf of myself and many fellow neapolitans in london, one of the few authentic (if not the only) verace pizza napuletan' is La Donna Margherita, lavendar hill, clapham junction. This place does honest to god neapolitan cuisine, with a veritable cornucopia of dishes, but topping the menu is pizza as good as any street vendor in naples. It's hard not to view the judges nominations as derisible when they fail to mention a place like donna margherita and instead nominate some fancy schmancy, mickey mouse pizzeria like Rocket.

Chiswick has Franco Manca & Canta Napoli for authentic Italian Pizzas BUT it is the branch Firezza which gets my vote, partly because they have a better range of toppings.
All three make it in woodfired stone ovens.
Outside of the W4 area Pizza Metro's fairly new second branch in Notting Hill is my fave.

Unbelievable! There is a new take away restaurant named Spinaci around the corner and i am quite impressed with the quality food they offered! I am from Italy and never imagined i can feel home with this authentic pizza. I recommend it to anyone.

I've been to Pizza East twice. Hugely disappointed both times. Antipasti was very good and crust on pizza excellent but, on a whole EXTREMELY bland. Its as though they didn't even season the pizza sauce. It just tasted like plain passata.
Also, if the menu doesn't specifically express "cheese" there is -no- cheese.
Lastly, I requested articokes to be added to my pizza. I was then served a pizza without articokes. I asked again, if I could have articokes and that I was happy to pay extra. The waiter left then came back a few minutes later and said "Sorry, the chef says it can't be done". How can it "not be done"?
We won't be going back and I wouldn't recommend this place.

Honestly I have to wonder about the credibility of the entire list since Nonna's is on it. It was absolutely hideous. Raw dough, coooked in a too cold oven by the waiter/cashier/prep cook/ pizzaiolo....seriously. where they kidding? oh, and I also didn't appreciate the addition of parmigiano on my pizza without letting me know first.

Pizza East is terrible. Too salty and greasy, the service is always lousy, been there a few times, not just the once. Much better more authentic pizzas at Francos near Curtain Road. It's a small cafe, but the pizzas are the best!

Pizzeria Pappagone Restaurant. 131 Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park is great! Wonderful food, great service, and with a real family atmosphere! The guys working there is so friendly and attentive, and always greet you with a handshake, which is really lovely! The ingredients are fresh and the food is all made with such love! The Americana Pizza is amazing, and they do some mean Gnocchi, bruschetta and Ice cream too : D Highly Recommended!

Most readers forget that pizza should be crafted from a special base, with as little as possible on top and baked at the highest possible temperature. In London, only one (yes, one) operator follows these principles: Franco Manca, with a branch in brixton and one in Chiswick. The sourdough they use is phenomenal and the specially brick ovens (made in Naples) reach a temperature of +600C. To cook a pizza it takes 90 seconds: try one of the only 6 types they make and you will never eat anything else.
Ermanno Nuonno di Agnone, 100% Italian.

Hey Gazza,
Nah, not from London bruv-from up norf innit-Leeds or summit.
I love the pride you have in the fact you have eaten pizzas all over Italy-i've eaten sandwiches from Newcastle to Barnstaple but I imagine that the majority of people on this page couldn't care less and would agree that is lends me little authority.
Enjoy your toasted bread, with tomatoes cheese and whatever and try out the restaurant in Nunhead

Il Bacio in Stoke Newington - thin, crunchy, great toppings and reasonable prices. Bella Vita on Broadway Market...
don't know why I read these best of things. They never seem to research properly, would be much better if they had a vote system for locals then visited the most popular - how can one editor cover every pizza place between islington and maida vale?!

i don't live in Italy and wouldn't dare to suggest I know anything worth knowing about Pizza (my understanding was that it was toasted bread, tomatoes, cheese and then some stuff on top) but Nunhead's new Sardinian restaurant (La Costa Smeralda) would be a welcome addition to the list above and anyone that is fortunate to live anywhere near the Peckham, East Dulwich or Camberwell area would do well to check it out.
Gary certainly seems a bit of douche bag.

TIME OUT! How about asking some of your readers to do these articles....it seems the paid writers and reviewers are pretty narrow minded - and do very limited foot work for these "best of"...
It seems there are plenty of readers who have commented on this, who know their way around London - give them a chance to review!

I am an authentic italian girl and I strongly suggest you a very good place where to eat a great pizza:
- Princi in Soho
- Made in Italy in Kings Rd.
- Rosso Pomodoro Covent Garden or Fulham Rd.
Try and you will have no doubts!

there are so many pizzerias in London that is quite hard to judge them by the way I'm pretty sure that to judge a good pizza next time is better to ask to an ITALIAN judge to do it.
Really sorry that spacca napoli closed was very good pizza there.

I've tried 2 restaurants from this review and have been disappointed by both. Napule in Fulham and Pizza Metro in Clapham both served pizzas that were not bad, but certainly not extra ordinary. I fear that this might be the case with many others.
The best pizza I've had in London is from SpaccaNapoli, which has now unfortunately closed down. I've been told that Manca Franco in Brixton is excellent, but am yet to try.

My God. These have to be some of the worst pizza review I've read. Though competent at assessing a host of other specialist foods, serious pizza eaters they are not. Pizza in London is depressing. Seriously, Santa Maria and Ecco's?
Furthermore, you cannot be serious about "gourmet" pizza, re: a comment regarding Hell Pizza. Hell Pizza is not pizza. It is a bastardisation and an incarnation of pizza only the drunk, deluded and gustatorily challenged could even regard as real pizza. If you consider this so, you have never eaten real pizza.

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